Apoptosis is a noninflammatory form of cell death that occurs throughout the life of an organism. Apoptotic cells are rapidly recognized and removed by phagocytic cells. Inhibition of apoptotic cell engulfment has been implicated in autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus. Many genes involved in apoptotic cell phagocytosis remain to be identified. Drosophila is a good genetic model organism to study the genes regulating the engulfment of dead cells. In this organism hemocytes are known to be responsible for apoptotic cell clearance. A genetic screen has been conducted using a panel of Drosophila deletion mutants, and several candidates were identified with a potential defect in apoptotic cell engulfment. This proposal focuses on identifying candidate genes within the deleted regions that are responsible for this defect. In addition, an in vitro phagocytosis model will be developed to aid in the characterization of the role that the identified genes have on the process of phagocytosis.